Housing Along Transit Line

With the Penang State Government pushing for the Transport Master Plan to be implemented as a matter of urgency; we could soon see housing blocks emerge more densely along the public transport route mainly from Komtar to the airport or more commonly known as the Bayan Lepas LRT Line. 

This will involve the local town planning guidelines to be modified to cater for future demands of housing along the route as the lower income group residents would like to live near public transport for convenience and economic reasons. When fully implemented; Penang's skyline will significantly be altered or evolved to reflect this latest development.

Official announcement of incentives for developers who are willing to work together with the government in making this idea a reality as follow:

Penang State Government will establish a new guideline, Transit Oriented Development or better known as TOD in its efforts to complement and encourage housing development near Light Rapid Transit (LRT) service areas and public bus stations.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that in line with that goal, he asked Plan Malaysia and the two local councils to draft and provide TOD guidelines for Penang.  

“I have directed the Penang City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) to immediately prepare this draft taking into account aspects and jurisdictions of other countries that have practiced it.

“I expect both local authorities to prepare the first draft as early as the first quarter of next year (2020), so developers have time to plan for their housing project in the affected area,” he told a recent media conference here.

Also present was the Chief Minister, Y.A.B. Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Pengkalan Kota State Assemblyman, Daniel Gooi Zi Sen and Jelutong Member of Parliament, R.S.N. Rayer.

Based on the LRT development project along the Komtar line to Bayan Lepas, there are 27 main stations of Phase 1 involving the construction of 20 stations from Komtar to Island A (Penang South Reclamation project, PSR) and Phase 2 (seven stations linking islands A, B and C).

Commenting on the new guidelines to be introduced, Jagdeep said that the State Government would give priority and incentives to developers developing housing schemes using the TOD method along those lines.

“As we all know, a total of 102,335 units of low-cost (LC), low-medium cost (LMC) and affordable (RMM) houses have been achieved so far involving various stages of preparation.

“To achieve Penang 2030 Vision, I have set a new target of 180,000 LC, LMC, RMM, with the remaining 78,000 units needed to be built by 2030.

“The development of the 78,000 units will follow this guideline based method (TOD) … we will also make major adjustments to the amount of parking allowed later in encouraging the public to use public transport while reducing vehicles and carbon footprints, thus making Penang more green, safe and sustainable, ”said Datuk Keramat assemblyman.

In addition, Jagdeep also expects public bus users by 2030 will increase to 30 percent on the island and 40 percent (Seberang).

“Based on the current ratio, the use of public buses is only four percent on the island and eight percent (Seberang).

“As such, we will try to identify more strategic locations for developing bus stations,” he said, adding that there are 1,711 bus stations throughout Penang with 404 rapid bus services on 71 routes.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

Old Is The New Gold

Sia Boey is one of the overdue and much anticipated urban rejuvenation project in Penang. The place played an important role in the early days of George Town but was later neglected to dilapidated state due to urban development in the vicinity. A lot of talks since then but no sign of any progress until recently. Photos of a drain teeming with Koi fish were being circulated in the social media for the past few months and have created quite a buzz among the netizens. It was touted to be the next big thing in Instagram friendly places in Penang. Finally it was opened to public recently. Official announcement from Buletin Mutiara below:

THE country’s first Urban Archeological Park at Sia Boey site (in the vicinity of Prangin Mall) was officially opened by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow this afternoon.

According to Chow, the park, which is part of the Komtar Phase 5 development project (total area of 5.73 acre), would be instrumental in telling the history of George Town.

The Sia Boey site is flanked by Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong and Jalan Magazine.

“Sia Boey was the trading hub during the earlier days in George Town and its activities were centred at the Prangin Canal where the 19th century Market Hall and shoplots are located.

“The Sia Boey Rejuvenation Project was launched on March 25, 2018 and the purpose of the project is to transform Sia Boey into an area of existing development as well as conserving heritage, green parks for a sustainable development.

“The project is also expected to add value to George Town’s Unesco sites since Jalan Lim Chwee Leong, where Sia Boay is situated, is considered to be the border of the Unesco heritage sites.

“The site (Sia Boey) is regarded as the buffer zone (Unesco heritage site), therefore it is important to retain its historical values,” added Chow.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by state Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee (Petach) chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng, Pengkala Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi and Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang.

“I hope that the renovated Market Hall, which will be open for public use, will be fully utilised.  Those who are interested in renting it can contact the PDC Setia Urus,” Chow said.

Part of the Sia Boey site will make way for the construction of the proposed LRT station under the Penang Transport Master Plan.

The Sia Boey Rejuvenation Project project is undertaken by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) with the collaboration of George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) and Centre of Global Archeological Research USM.

Also present was PDC general manager Datuk Mohd Bazid Abdul Kahar.

The name ‘Sia Boey’ means the tail of a settlement in Hokkien and the Malays refer the site as ‘Ujong Pasir’ whereas the Tamil community calls it as” Kaalai Kadai’ during the 19th century.

Story by Tanushalini Moroter

Pix by Law Suun Ting

Source: Buletin Mutiara

IKEA Coming to Penang

China Leads The World Into The Future

China is the world's largest solar power producer.

China is investing $364 billion into renewable power generation.

China reached its 2020 solar power target 3 years early.

China is using AI to improve healthcare and speed up diagnoses.

Chinese scientists invented rice that can grow in salt water which can feed over 200 million people.

Chinese discovered a way to turn sand into fertile soil which helped convert deserts into lands rich with crops.

At least 1 billion Chinese could be using 5G mobile networks by 2023.

Chinese are now using mobile payment instead of cash.

China teams up with Europe to build a base on the moon.

China will also send an unmanned probe to Mars by the end of 2020.

China built the world's largest telescope to study the universe.

China is constructing buildings as vertical forest in an attempt to fight air pollution in her major cities.

China has the world's largest bullet train network.

Coolest Library On The Planet

Located in the Binhai Cultural District In Tianjin, the five-story library, which was designed by Dutch design firm MVRDV in collaboration with the Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI) has been dubbed “The Eye of Binhai”, due to the spherical auditorium in the middle which resembles a giant eye. The building covers 34,000 square metres and can hold up to 1.2 million books. This state of the art facility took the Chinese just three years to complete, the library features a reading area on the ground floor, lounge areas in the middle sections and offices, meeting spaces, and computer/audio rooms at the top. With the awesome architecture, it is not certain how one could concentrate on reading without marveling the beauty of its interior!

You can literally immerse yourself in the sea of knowledge within this building. Looking up the terraced wall filled with books make you wonder the greatness of human knowledge and history. 

Golden Bridge of Kuching

Spice Arena

The finished product of the much anticipated new Setia Spice Arena in Penang Malaysia is simply stunning! With state of the art architecture and technology, the new convention centre will put Penang on the map for the preferred conference meeting place in the region.

The aerial view of the entire complex shows a combination of various architectural styles that bind all the buildings together.

The organic lines and shapes of the landscaped areas softened the otherwise rigid lines of the architecture and buildings.

The centrepiece of the complex has a sculptural beacon embracing a glass pyramid which draws natural lighting into the basement below.